SWNOVELXO Chapter 15
Chapter 15; Might and Prestige
“Iron Horse Stance, Level 5!”
Chen Ming took a deep breath, silently sensing the changes in his body.
He felt that his spirit, stamina, and vitality had all reached an unprecedented peak.
“Let’s get familiar with it first.”
He didn’t rush to add more points.
Instead, he spent some time adjusting his state and practiced the “Three Talents Fist” in the courtyard.
After going through the routine once, he couldn’t help but praise the System inwardly.
As expected, after allocating points, it perfectly adapted to his current state.
There wasn’t any situation where his strength had surged but he couldn’t control his power.
So, he sat back down, opened the panel, and directly maxed out the proficiency of the Level 5 of “Iron Horse Stance.”
【Level: 10】
【Current Points: 5】
【Technique: Iron Horse Stance (Level 5, Perfected)】
【Martial Skills: Three Talents Fist (Proficient 27/500+), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Beginner 55/100+)】
In an instant, he felt a terrifying force surge from within, tearing at his muscles and tendons.
The immense pain overwhelmed him.
……
…………
By evening, it was time for dinner.
Chen Rui noticed the dishes were more lavish than usual and looked at his wife with some surprise.
She knew the state of their household.
Lately, they had been as frugal as possible—so why were there so many dishes today?
It wasn’t a holiday or celebration.
Madam Wei seemed rather radiant.
She noticed her husband’s confusion and explained, “This pork knuckle was brought by Sister-in-law Liu, the ribs were from Granny Li, and this one…”
Chen Rui frowned, cutting her off unhappily, “You just accepted what others gave us? Our family hasn’t fallen so low that we need others’ charity to eat.”
“No, it’s not that.”
Madam Wei looked wronged. “They brought these because they wanted to ask about second brother’s martial arts. From what I could tell, they were hoping to have their children learn a few moves from him.”
Chen Rui was momentarily speechless.
He knew that after the debt collectors had left, several groups of visitors had come to the house and didn’t leave until the afternoon.
He thought they were just here to comfort his wife.
He didn’t expect that after witnessing his younger brother’s overwhelming power, they were inspired to have their own children learn martial arts too.
Though Madam Wei had been misunderstood by her husband, she wasn’t angry after explaining. She was in an especially good mood.
For the first time, she experienced the feeling of being the social center of the neighborhood.
The pleasant sense of attention made her generous enough to forgive her husband’s blunder.
By now, all the dishes had been served, but no one picked up their chopsticks yet.
Chen Lide sat beside his grandmother, eyes fixed on the plate of braised ribs, swallowing constantly.
The last time they had pork ribs at home had been months ago.
After waiting a while longer, Chen Ming finally arrived. He greeted, “Big Brother, Sister-in-law,” and then sat down.
For some reason, Chen Rui felt his younger brother seemed different but couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
Seeing his brother staring at him, Chen Ming asked, “Brother, is there something on my face?”
“You…”
Chen Rui paused, then said, “This afternoon, several neighbors came over with gifts, saying they wanted their kids to learn some martial arts from you. They’re all our neighbors, and your sister-in-law couldn’t turn them down, so she accepted the gifts… If it’s an inconvenience for you, I’ll return them tomorrow.”
Upon hearing the words “learn martial arts,” Chen Lide finally looked away from the plate of ribs and stared at his uncle with yearning in his eyes.
Madam Wei also looked at him nervously, afraid he might refuse.
Chen Ming thought for a moment and said, “That won’t be necessary. How about this—once I finish my tasks over the next few days, I’ll have them come in the mornings, and I’ll teach them some basic moves.”
“Good.”
Chen Rui’s expression relaxed immediately.
Chen Lide shouted, “Uncle, I want to learn too!”
Madam Wei beamed with joy and picked up the first piece of rib, placing it in Chen Ming’s bowl. “Let’s eat first before the dishes go cold.”
……
Wanli Gambling House.
Many people didn’t know that Old Ghost Xiao wasn’t actually that old—just a little over forty.
He merely aged prematurely, with most of his hair already white and deep wrinkles on his face, making others mistakenly think he was an old man.
He sat in a grand armchair, holding a pair of iron spheres in his left hand, slowly rolling them.
In the room, a few bruised and battered men knelt on the floor, tearfully complaining, “Boss, you must get justice for Scarface. That brat surnamed Chen didn’t show any respect to you at all. Scarface’s pelvis was shattered. The doctor said he might never walk again in this lifetime…”
Old Ghost Xiao listened with his eyes closed, his face dark. He gripped the iron spheres so tightly that a grinding “creak” could be heard.
At last, he opened his eyes. His gaze was even darker than his expression. “Idiots!”
“I sent you to collect a debt, not to start a fight!”
“Relying on your ability to fight, you always resort to violence. And now you’ve kicked a steel plate? You want me to clean up your mess?”
“And now you expect me to take revenge for you? Can’t you use your heads for once? Do you think that Chen brat’s martial arts dropped out of the sky?”
“His master is Huo Chengkun, a sixth-rank expert. Even the Giant Tiger Gang doesn’t dare provoke him. Are you trying to get me killed?”
The men kneeling below froze in fear at his outburst, not daring to make a sound.
Old Ghost Xiao looked at these useless subordinates, so furious he wanted to kill them all.
He’d warned them long ago—not to mess with families that had trained martial artists.
But they were bold to the extreme, even daring to trap the family of someone who trained under Huo Chengkun.
Clearly, they didn’t know the meaning of the word “death.”
One of the subordinates on the floor quietly tried to explain, “Scarface checked. That Chen Ming left the Huo Residence four years ago. He was kicked out for being too untalented…”
Old Ghost Xiao let out a cold snort. “He crippled Scarface in two moves, and you’re telling me he’s untalented? Then what does that make you?”
The man was instantly speechless.
“How many times have I told you—not to take rumors as fact. Or you’ll die without even knowing how.”
At that moment, a middle-aged man standing behind Old Ghost Xiao spoke up, “Boss, shouldn’t we think about how to clean this up?”
“Hmph.”
Old Ghost Xiao replied, “Whoever caused this mess can go clean it up…”
……
…………
“Not good! Those debt collectors are back!”
Chen Ming had just returned to the small courtyard after dinner when he heard someone shouting.
With a flash, he dashed to the main gate at top speed.
Looking out, he saw the same people from earlier that day standing at the entrance.
At the front, Scarface was lying on a door plank, carried by his men, his face pale.
In the alley, many neighbors had come out upon hearing the commotion, watching with curiosity.
Soon, Chen Rui came out too, standing beside his younger brother.
Chen Ming said calmly, “What, still not convinced?”
Scarface replied weakly, “No, I wouldn’t dare. I was blind today and offended you, young master. I’ve come to apologize.”
As he spoke, two of his men brought over a box and placed it at the doorway.
The lid opened to reveal it was filled with bright silver.
Then, the whole group knelt down. “Young master, please be magnanimous and forgive our ignorance.”
Chen Rui was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.
He instinctively wanted to say something but quickly turned to look at his brother, who remained expressionless.
Chen Ming simply said, “You didn’t offend me. You offended my brother.”
Upon hearing this, Scarface immediately turned to Chen Rui. “Young Master Chen Rui, I must have lost my mind. I altered the wording on the IOU to frame you. I even laid hands on you—it was all my fault…”
As he spoke, he used his still-functional leg to kneel and began kowtowing.
Chen Rui had never seen such a spectacle and felt uneasy.
But his brother was still unsatisfied. “You even laid hands on my brother.”
“I was wrong! I shouldn’t have raised a hand…”
Scarface straightened up and slapped himself hard across the face, a loud “smack” echoing.
Then came another slap on the other side.
Chen Rui’s eyelids twitched violently.
The blows were vicious, and Scarface’s face quickly swelled.
Chen Rui couldn’t bear to watch and gently tugged his brother’s sleeve.
“That’s enough.”
Only then did Chen Ming speak. “What happened today ends here. Now get lost.”
Scarface and his group, as if granted amnesty, fled in disgrace.
The neighbors in the alley who had come to watch remained silent, all looking at the Chen brothers with eyes full of awe.
A strange silence fell over the scene.
The same thugs who had been arrogant and violent earlier that day were now kneeling at the Chen family’s door, kowtowing in apology.
Such prestige etched itself deeply into everyone’s hearts.